Fisherman’s Wife
1920
- Dimensions
- 100 × 124 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas mounted on panel
- Collection
- Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA)
Constant Permeke was a Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leadin…
✦ Highlights (technique & color)
The artist employed the marouflage technique, mounting the canvas onto a panel. This accentuates the material presence of the paint, bringing out the earthy, dark tones. A dramatic shift from the bright colors of his exile, these heavy, subdued hues directly mirror the harsh realities he confronted.
✦ The setting of this painting
The setting is the Belgian coastal city of Ostend. Upon returning here in 1919 after the First World War, the artist was met with the harsh realities and arduous lives of the laborers who lived by the sea. In stark contrast to the luminous palette of his years in exile, the raw, earthy presence of the working class he confronted is deeply reflected in this work.
✦ Historical context
This was an era following the end of the First World War, when people were striving to rebuild their daily lives from the devastation of conflict. The artist himself had been wounded in the war and returned to his homeland after seeking refuge in England. Amid the lingering scars of war, this period marked a deepening of his expressionist approach as he confronted the grim realities of the working class.
Dark, heavy colors. A woman is depicted there. A fisherman's wife from Ostend, a coastal city in Belgium. Her figure is painted in earthy, subdued colors.
The painter is Constant Permeke. His life was profoundly torn apart by war. An injury in World War I, followed by evacuation to England. Away from his homeland in England, he might have sought light amidst harsh circumstances, painting with bright colors.
However, in 1919, Permeke finally returned to Ostend. What awaited him there was not a beautiful landscape, but the harsh reality of the laborers. The heavy and arduous lives of people living with the sea were present.
He could no longer paint with bright colors.
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